Bill 76 (Legislature 8, Session 1)

L8 S1 8450

Alberta — Bills

Bill No. 76 of 1936. A BILL PROVIDING FOR THE RECALL OF MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. NOTE. This Bill provides for the recall of a memter of the Legis lative Assembly uron a report being made by the Chief Justice of Alberta or by a Judge of the Supreme Court designated by him, after an inquiry as provided in the Bill, to the Clerk of the Executive Council to the effect that a petition has been signed and lodged in conformity to the provisions of the Bill.

The petition must conform to the requirements set out in the Bill some of which are to the effect that the petition shall be signed by electors of the electoral division to which it relates to the number of more than sixty-six and two thirds per centum of the number of voters upon the last voters' list, and that it must be lodged with the Clerk of the Executive Council within forty days from the issuance of the petition forms by the Clerk, and that it must comply with all the other requirements of the Act.

The reason for recall must be set out in the petition and if a petition has been lodged to recall the member of a con stituency, no other petition is permitted in respect of that constituency until after the next ensuing general election of members of the Legislative Assembly. R. ANDREW SMITH, Leyislcttivc Counsel. (Thi8 note does not fonn any part of the Bill and is offered me'rely as a partictl e.r.planation of some of its prov isions.)

BILL No. 76 of 1936.

An Act providing for the Recall of Members of the Legislative Assembly. (Assented to ' 1936.) HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta, enacts as follows: 1. This Act may be cited as "The Legislative Assembly (Recall) Act." 2.

The seat of any member of the Legislative Assembly shall become vacant upon the delivery to the Clerk of the Executive Council of a report made pursuant to this Act by the· Chief Justice of Alberta or a designated judge setting out that a petition has been signed and lodged in conformity to the provisions of this Act and that the seat of that member is vacant. 3.

Upon the occurrence of a vacancy pursuant to this Act the member whose seat has been so vacated shall be eligible for nomination and election as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the electoral division for which he was previously elected as a member or for any other electoral division. 4.-

(1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, any person desirous of presenting a petition for the recall of a member of the Legislative Assembly may deposit with the Clerk of the Executive Council an application in writing which shall be in Form A in the

schedule hereto and which shall be signed by at least ten persons whose names appeared upon the voters' list used at the last election for the election of a member of the Legislature held in the electoral division to which the proposed petition relates and who are then residents therein (hereinafter referred to as "the promoters") and which shall set out the reason for the recall of the member and which shall designate the name and address of some person as the agent of the promoters and shall be accompanied by a declaration in Form B in the

schedule hereto as to the signatures upon the application, and upon the making of any such application there shall be paid to the Clerk a fee of two hundred dollars.

(2) In case a petition has been lodged with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly for the recall of a member in pur ported pursuance of this Act and whether or not a vacancy has occurred by reason thereof, no other petition for the recall of the member for the electoral division to which the

2 first mentioned petition relates shall be permitted under this Act until after the next ensuing general election of members of the Legislative Assembly. 5. Upon the receipt of an application made in conformity with

section 4 and payment of the prescribed fee the Clerk of the Executive Council shall proceed to procure, with all reasonable expedition, forms of petition which shall be in Form C in the

schedule hereto and shall deliver or transmit to the person designated in the application as the agent sufficient of such forms to contain signatures to the number of seventy-five per centum of the number of voters who were upon the voters' list compiled upon the occasion of the last election held therein for the election of a member of the Legislative Assembly in the electoral division to which the proposed petition relates, and before he delivers or trans mits any such forms he shall cause each form to be marked with the date of delivery or transmission thereof, as the case may be, and with a mark of such kind and description that he will subsequently be able to identify every such form as a form which has been issued by him. 6.

For the purposes of this Act a petition for the recall of a member of the Legislative Assembly shall comply with all the following requirements: (

a) The petition shall be signed upon forms issued by the Clerk of the Executive Council and marked by him pursuant to

section 5 and not otherwise. (

b) The petition shall be signed by persons who would be at the time of signing duly qualified electors within the meaning of The Alberta Election Act in the electoral division to which the petition relates if an election were then being held under that Act in that electoral division. (

c) Every signature shall be attested by a witness who shall be over the age of twenty-one years. (

d) Every signature for the petition shall be verified by the declaration of the attesting witness thereto in Form Bin the

schedule hereto. (

e) Every signature upon the petition shall be written in ink. (

f) The petition shall contain the signatures of persons who are electors of the electoral division to which it relates to the number of more than sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of the total number of voters who were upon the voters' list compiled upon the occasion of the last election held therein for the election of a member of the Legislative Assembly or, in case no such list was then compiled, upon the voters' list available for the purposes of such election. (

g) The petition shall be lodged with the Clerk of the Executive Council within forty days after the day upon which the forms for the petition were first delivered to the agent designated in the application for the petition, or to the post office or to a common carrier for transmission to the agent.

3 (

h) The promoters shall cause true copies of the petition to be made setting out all the names which appear upon the petition and shall cause one of such copies to be posted up in a conspicuous place at or near every post office in the electoral division to which the petition relates not later than the tenth day after the day upon which the petition is lodged with the Clerk of the Executive Council and shall cause the same to be kept so posted up at each such place until the fortieth day after the petition is so lodged. 7.

Upon the receipt by the Clerk of the Executive Council of a petition he shall immediately give notice thereof to the member affected thereby and to the Chief Justice of Alberta who shall thereupon fix a time, not sooner than forty days after the receipt by the Clerk of the petition, and a place for the purpose of holding an inquiry into the regularity or otherwise of the petition which inquiry shall be conducted either by the Chief Justice of Alberta or by such other judge of the Supreme Court as he may designate for the purpose and shall direct the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly to give sufficient notice of the hearing to the member affected thereby and to such other persons as he may deem proper, and the Clerk shall there upon cause notice of the hearing to be published in The Alberta Gazette and in such newspapers as the Chief Justice of Alberta may direct. 8.

The Chief Justice may designate one person or more to represent the promoters of the petition upon the inquiry and such persons, as well as the member affected by the petition, shall be entitled to appear upon the inquiry either in person or by counsel. 9.-

(1) Upon the day so fixed for the inquiry or upon any adjournment thereof the Chief Justice or other judge designated by him for the purpose shall proceed to inquire as to whether or not the petition conforms to all the pro visions of this Act and for that purpose shall have the same power of compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents as may be conferred upon a Com missioner appointed under The Public Inquiries Act.

(2) Every such hearing shall be open to the public.

(3) The declaration by an attesting witness in Form B shall be prima facie evidence of the facts set out therein; but in case it is made to appear to the Chief Justice or other judge that it is, for any reason, proper so to do he may require any such facts to be proved before him by oral evidence. ( 4) Subject to subsection ( 3) , no evidence shall be received except it is given orally and on oath and at a hearing.

(5) The onus of proving any fact which is material to the regularity of the petition shall be upon the promoters of the petition.

4 10.-

(1) After hearing all the evidence adduced before him and any representations which may be made by or on behalf of any person entitled to appear upon the inquiry, the Chief Justice or other judge designated by him, if satisfied by such evidence that all the requirements of this Act in relation to the petition have been complied with, shall transmit to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and to the Clerk of the Executive Council a report in writing declaring that a petition has been duly lodged with the Clerk of the Executive Council which conforms to all the require ments of this Act and that the seat of the member to which the same relates is vacant, otherwise he shall report to the Clerk of the Executive Council that the petition does not so conform and that the same is a nullity and of no effect.

(2) In case it is proved to the satisfaction of the Chief Justice or other judge holding the inquiry that the pro moters of the petition have in respect of the petition com mitted acts or engaged in practices which are declared by

section 12 of this Act to be offences, the Chief Justice or other judge shall make a report to the Clerk of the Executive Council thereof and shall declare the petition to be a nullity and of no effect. 11. The Clerk of the Executive Council shall cause every such report to be published in The Alberta Gazette. 12.-

(1) Every person who directly or indirectly, either by himself or by any other person on his behalf,- (

a) gives or lends any money or money's-worth to an elector or to any person on behalf of an elector or offers or agrees or promises so to do for the purpose of inducing an elector to sign or refrain from sign ing a petition, or corruptly does any such act on account of an elector having signed or refrained from signing a petition; or (

b) gives to or procures for an elector or any other person any office, place or employment, or offers or promises so to do for the purpose of inducing an elector to sign or refrain from signing a petition, or corruptly does any such act on account of an elector having signed or refrained from signing a petition; or (

c) makes a gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement as aforesaid to or for any person for the purpose of inducing such person to procure any person to sign or refrain from signing a petition; or (cl) by reason of or on account of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement procures or engages or promises or endeavours to procure any elector to sign or refrain from signing a petition; or (

e) on account of and as payment of or having illegally assisted or agreed to assist in promoting a petition applies directly or indirectly to any persons pro moting the petition for the gift or loan of any ...

5 money or money's-worth or for the promise of any such gift or loan or for any office, place or employ ment or for the promise of any office, place or employment; shall, in every such event, be guilty of an offence.

(2) Payments bona fide made for the fair cost of print ing and advertising and other lawful and reasonable expenses in connection with the petition incurred by the promoters of the petition or the member affected thereby in good faith and without corrupt intent shall be deemed to be payments lawfully made and shall not constitute a con travention of this section.

(3) The distribution by the persons promoting the petition or the member affected thereby of political pamphlets or other political literature, or the sending or causing to be sent to electors by the promoters of news papers containing political articles, reports of political meetings or other matters of public interest shall not be a contravention of this Act. 13.

Every person who directly or indirectly, himself or by any person on his behalf, uses or threatens to use force, violence or restraint or inflicts or threatens to inflict injury, damage, harm or loss or in any manner practises intimida tion upon or against an elector in order to induce or compel him to sign or refrain from signing a petition or on account of his having signed or refrained from signing a petition, or who by abduction, duress or false or fraudulent pretence, device or contrivance impedes, prevents or otherwise inter feres with an elector in the free exercise of his right to sign or refrain from signing a petition or thereby compels, induces or prevails upon an elector to sign or refrain from signing a petition shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. 14.

Every person who signs a petition knowing that he has no right to sign the same or who induces or procures any other person to sign a petition knowing that such person has no right to sign the same shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. 15. Every person who before or during the time when a petition is being signed for the purpose of securing the recall of a member makes or publishes any false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of such member shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. 16.

Every person who commits an offence against this Act who is a promoter of a petition shall be liable on sum mary conviction to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars and costs and in default of payment to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, and every other person who commits an offence against this Act shall be liable on

summary conviction to a fine of not more than two hundred and fifty dollars and costs and in default of pay ment to imprisonment for a term of not more than three months.

6 17. Every declaration in Form B shall be made before a justice of the peace or a notary public or a commissioner for oaths. 18. Any person who wilfully alters, defaces , erases or renders illegible any date or signature or mark placed upon any form of petition by the Clerk of the Executive Council or by any person authorized by him in writing in that behalf shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on

summary conviction to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars and costs and in default of payment to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months. 19. Any person who takes down, defaces, damages, mutilates or in any other way interferes with any copy of a petition posted up pursuant to this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on

summary conviction therefor to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars and in default of payment to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months. 20. This Act shall come into force on the day upon which it is assented to. THE SCHEDULE. FORM A. THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA. The Leg-islative Assembly (Recall) Act.

To the Clerk of the Executive Council: We, the undersigned, being persons whose names appeared upon the voters' list used at the last election for the election of a member of the Legislative Assembly held in the Electoral Division of ..... ......................................... .. ...... , and now resident therein, and being desirous of presenting a petition pursuant to The Legislative Assembly (Recall) Act for the recall of a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the said Electoral Division for the following reason: ....................... ................. ...................................... ......... . and do hereby make application to be furnished with the forms prescribed by the said Act for such a petition, and we hereby appoint . .. . ... . ............................................................ , of ............. ,as our agent in relation hereto.

Dated at .. . .. .. . .. ............. .... , in the Province of Alberta, this . . . ... .... ..... .. day of ......... .................. ......... , 193 .... .

Signatures of Applicants 7 P. 0. Addresses 1. ································ ·· ... ................... ... . Signatures of Witnesses (With at least nine additional lines, each consecutively numbered.) FORM B. The Legislative Assembly (Recall) Act . I, . in the Province of Alberta, do hereby solemnly declare : . , of ... 1. That I am of the full age of twenty-one years. 2. That I have examined the document now produced and shown to me and marked "Exhibit A" to this my declaration. 3.

That I have signed my name upon the said document as an attesting witness against certain signatures upon the said document and that each of such last mentioned signatures was written thereon in my presence, and I verily believe that each such signature is in the proper handwriting of the person who so signed the said docu ment: And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously be lieving it to be true and knowing that it is of the same force and effect as if made under oath and by virtue of The Canada Evidence Act.

Declared before me at . in the Province of Alberta, this ........ ..... day of ...... ... , 19 ..... . .. ' ........ ......... ...... ....... ....... ..... . (J.P., Notary Public or Com missioner for Oaths.) (Signature of Declarer.) FORM C. PROVINCE OF ALBERTA. The Legislat ·ive Assembly (Recall) Act. Date of Issue Electoral Division of Pursuant to the provisions of The Legislative Assembly (Recall) Act the undersigned electors of the Electoral Division of . . . . .. . . ............ ..... do hereby petition

8 for the recall of . .. .. . .. . ... . . . ......................................... ... , a member of the Legislative Assembly for the Electoral Division of ................................................ for the following reason: Signatures of Petitioners P. 0. Addresses 1 . ....................................................... .. Signatures of Witnesses (The remainder of the form to be rules with lines not less than three-eighths of one inch apart, each such line to be consecutively numbered commencing with the number two.)

No. 76. FIRST SESSION EIGHTH LEGISLATURE 1 EDWARD VIII 1936 BILL

An Act providing for the Recall of Members of the Legislative Assembly. Received and read the First time Second time Third time ...... ..................... ............ . HON. MR. MANNING. EDMONTON: A. Shnltka, King's Prlntt>r 1936 Title: 1936 (8th, 1st) Bill 76,

An Act providing for the Recall of Members of the Legislative Assembly

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Bills
Citation	L8 S1 8450
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	L8 S1 8450
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	afcc0e4dc8d18dbc9f37b48f260b52db6fb964c6

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